Meet the new-look Celtics

The Celtics exceeded expectations last season. Despite losing Jeff Green and Chris Wilcox to heart ailments and Avery Bradley to a shoulder injury, the C's still took the eventual champion Miami Heat to seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Celtics and Heat were tied at the end of the third quarter of Game 7; it was that close. It's been a busy offseason, but the Celtics have reloaded to a point where they're considered contenders once again. Have they done enough? Will some of last year's flaws come back to bite them? Take a look at what's changed and what's stayed the same as the 2012-2013 Celtics prepare for another run.
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Getty

<b>Same: Doc Rivers is the league's most important coach --</b> Notice we didn't say best coach. That's an argument for another day. Rivers proved his worth as Boston's most valuable asset as the Celtics retained Kevin Garnett and signed Jason Terry, Jeff Green, Brandon Bass, and Chris Wilcox. In addition to attracting players to Boston, the Celtics coach extended Garnett's career last season by moving him to center, and he has helped Rondo develop into a superstar. Rivers is also the team's mouthpiece, and there may not be another personality in sports who's better suited for that role.
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The Boston Globe

<b>Different: They're faster/they can run --</b> Jeff Green, Courtney Lee, Avery Bradley, and Chris Wilcox are the obvious additions to Boston's fast break. But one Doc Rivers quote I loved from the press conference introducing this year's rookies concerned the slow-footed Jared Sullinger. Rivers was asked about Sullinger and the break and replied, "Jared can rebound. We need the ball to be able to run." Look for the Celtics to be off and running.
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AP

<b>Same: They're experienced--</b> Nothing new here. Just a veteran team doing what veteran NBA teams usually do, which is win a lot of games. Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Rajon Rondo have proven they can win together. Jason Terry comes from a winning culture in Dallas. It's good to have young players, and the Celtics do, but you want your best players to have been there before.
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The Boston Globe

<b>Different: Fourth-quarter rotation --</b> No matter the situation, you could count on Doc Rivers to put Rondo, Allen, Pierce, and Garnett on the floor at the end of games. The most memorable role Allen played in Boston was fourth-quarter hero, and without him the Celtics will need to find another. The obvious fit is Jason Terry, but what about Avery Bradley and Courtney Lee? You know Pierce and Garnett will be on the floor, so that's four guards for three spots. Rivers will need to sort it out.
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The Boston Globe

<b>Same: Paul Pierce is the key --</b> <em>It's Rondo's team now. If Garnett fails, so do the Celtics.</em> Both of those things are true, but Pierce continues to be the cog that makes the Celtics go. He's a professional scorer, at this point second-best in team history. Pierce, not Rondo, played more minutes than any other Celtic last season. He scored 234 more points than Garnett and almost twice as many as Rondo. The Celtics don't go anywhere without a productive Pierce.
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The Boston Globe

<b>Different: The bench should be able to score—</b>For the first time in recent memory, the Celtics have a legitimate second unit, at least on paper. Jason Terry (pictured) averaged 15.1 points off the bench last season in Dallas. More importantly, he can create his own shot and run a second unit. Courtney Lee, Jeff Green, and Chris Wilcox give Boston some serious firepower in the second unit.
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Getty Images

<b>Same: Rondo needs to lead --</b> Even though Pierce and Garnett are still here, it's important for Rondo to take even more of a leadership role with the Celtics going forward. As the skills of the veterans begin to decline, so will their influence. Where Rondo's emergence will need to happen most is in the fourth quarter. He did that against Miami, including a dominant performance in which he scored 44 points. He can no longer take a back seat in the fourth or defer to others. The Celtics need Rondo to be at his best when it matters.
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The Boston Globe

<b>Different: Shooting guard scoring --</b> Piggybacking off the fourth-quarter rotation issue is the fact that no one shooting guard on the Celtics roster quite replaces what Allen gave them. Terry and Lee are known as shooters, but neither is as good a shooter as Allen. Bradley is the likely starter when healthy, but he'll have to take more shots and score more points if he stays in a starting role.
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AP

<b>Same: Frontcourt depth still a question--</b> The Celtics did well to bolster their frontcourt by adding Chris Wilcox and Jason Collins and drafting Jared Sullinger and Fab Melo. On paper, the frontcourt looks deeper than last season. However, Sullinger and Melo are rookies who may not play, and Collins hasn't proven to be reliable. The Celtics are a Garnett injury away from being woefully thin, and that's unlikely to change.
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AP

<b>Different: A rookie might contribute--</b> Might is the operative word here, but Jared Sullinger has a shot to enter the rotation this season. He's succeeded at every level—a two-time All-American in two college seasons is a very high level of success—despite being undersized and a step slow, so maybe Sullinger can do the same in the NBA. Center Fab Melo probably needs more seasoning, and Kris Joseph may only see time with an injury to a wing player. Last year's rookies, E'Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson, didn't sniff the floor in meaningful games and are now elsewhere.
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AP

<b>Same: Miami's still a major problem—</b>The Heat aren't going away. In fact, they've gotten better by adding Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis to a championship team. Allen gives them a legitimate late-game threat who isn't LeBron James or Dwyane Wade. Chris Bosh proved his worth when he returned to the team during the conference finals. The Celtics may have gotten better, but they've still got the league's best team in their conference. Going through Miami will be a real challenge. Oh yeah, and the Lakers got Dwight Howard.
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The Boston Globe

<b>Different: They'll start faster (no lockout)--</b> The Celtics lumbered through their pre-All Star Game schedule last season with a 15-17 record. The initial assumption is they were old. Later on it was revealed that Garnett and Pierce in particular were out of shape and unready to return to game action after the lockout ended in December. Both players looked tired, but turned it on later in the season. There should be none of that this season, and there should be more depth behind those players as well.
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AP

<b>Same: The defense will be solid—</b>Defense has been a trademark of Doc Rivers's teams since Garnett arrived in Boston in 2007. Garnett has had a lot to do with that, but it's also a team concept that makes it happen.The Celtics finished second in the league last season in opponent points per game at 89.3 They could be even better defensively this season with more playing time for Avery Bradley and with the additions of Courtney Lee and Jeff Green.
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REUTERS

<b>Different: They're favored to do well—</b> Unlike last season, the Celtics are expected to challenge for the Eastern Conference title this time around. They're still looking up at Miami, but if they stay relatively healthy they're better equipped to challenge the Heat this time around. A big part of that is the emergence of Bradley as a starting-caliber player, but the additions of Green and Lee give the Celtics a dynamic they haven't seen in some time: a true second unit.
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The Boston Globe

<b>Same: Brandon Bass will be overlooked --</b> It was funny seeing Brandon Bass at an introductory press conference featuring Green, Wilcox, and Terry. All three of the other players had interesting stories. Bass was simply coming back. Through a 20-game playoff run last season, you'd be hard pressed to find any reporter or analyst who named Bass they key player in any one of those games. And yet Bass was a starter, averaging 11.1 points and 5.3 rebounds in the postseason. Bass should start at power forward again this season, and his production may still be taken for granted.
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AP

<b>Different: A lot's expected of Avery Bradley—</b>Bradley's been mentioned in almost every slide here as a positive addition for the upcoming season, but don't forget it's his first season in which he'll have major expectations. Teams will game plan for him now, and he's coming off surgeries to both shoulders. Not saying Bradley can't be good, but he'll have a lot more pressure than ever before.
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